That Homeless Girl
by i'm.horizontal.running
Summary: "When will that homeless girl leave?" Jesse asked with a frown. "Her name," Benji replied, "is Beca." AU Jesse/Beca
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect.**

**I do, however, own the plot. **

* * *

Beca had been homeless for as long as she could remember.

Sure, at one point she must've had parents and a house and food, but that obviously didn't last long. She wasn't even quite sure how old she was…she thought maybe 18 or 19, but she had lost her birth certificate a long time ago. But she didn't wonder about on it. Her life…well, at that point, it was just about surviving.

She had everything she needed; a backpack, a ragged pair of tennis shoes, one pair of dirty jeans, a tank top that used to be white but had morphed into a brown/gray color, a plaid over shirt that she supposed used to be bright red, blue, white, and silver, but was so faded people probably thought it was just gray plaid.

She had recently acquired a beanie from a recent homeless shelter donation. She had gotten there late and all the good stuff was gone, so she had just taken the beanie. But she thought the nice, bright red beanie was kind of nice to have…it made her feel more like a normal girl. Sometimes.

In her bag was an umbrella for the rare LA rain, an (admittedly stolen from a lost and found in the mall) nice North Face coat, ratty fingerless gloves, an old plastic water bottle, a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, and a razor.

No, she didn't use the razor to cut herself, but one of the homeless shelters she went to gave them out for some reason, and she liked to shave when she had the chance. It made her feel really, truly clean.

To get clean, she'd either use one of the small, dinky showers in homeless shelters or she'd bathe in people's pools. Living in LA had perks, since one out of three houses had a pool, and people went on vacations all the time. Maybe that made her a bad person, but if God was going to screw her over like this, she wasn't going to go to church and fucking pray. She didn't need him.

She slept in homeless shelters if she could, but usually they weren't for young girls like her, they were for older ladies. They were usually full by the time she got there, anyways. She got turned away often.

So mostly she slept in allies. She tried to avoid allies next to clubs, because even though she liked the music, the number of drunken guys thinking she was some sort of prostitute was overwhelming. She never felt safe next to clubs.

She sometimes tried residential areas, but someone called the cops on her almost every time. She'd been arrested more than once, but since she didn't know her real name and they couldn't find a match with her fingerprints, they just let her go with a stern 'Don't do it again' and sometimes some food.

For the rest of her food, Beca would sometimes get handouts if she hung out in front of a grocery store like Safeway or QFC. Sometimes even McDonalds. To get money, she could sometimes help an old lady with her garden or bring a lost dog back. She found a lot of lost dogs, and she liked to bring them back to their owners so they weren't homeless like her. And the owners were always so happy to see their dogs…

But admittedly, sometimes she had to do _that._ Her only friend, Stacie, was a full time hooker. Stacie even had an apartment. It was a shitty apartment, but it was an apartment. She had only done it three times, and she cried for weeks afterward every time, but it was that or starve.

And Beca was going to survive, damn it.

But her true fear was getting sick. Everyone who was homeless in LA knew that getting sick was like a death sentence, because the free clinic was for sick children mostly and there was no way to get a real doctor.

So Beca didn't live, she just survived. And she was fine with that. But Stacie wanted to be like the normal people.

"Beca," Stacie told her dreamily, "Someday I'm going to live in one of those mansions on Beverly Hill. And I'll have kids and a husband and a pool. I won't be hungry most nights and I won't have to do…what I do now."

Beca toyed with the apple Stacie had given her, rolling it around on Stacie's stained coffee table. "That's nice, Stace."

"And you'll live next door, Beca, and we can go shopping on Black Friday instead of hanging around hoping someone drops something. And we'll give food to people like us, and our kids will play together while our husbands watch football on the TV…"

Stacie continued talking and Beca smiled softly at her. She knew her friend was delusional, but she wished she had hope like Stacie did. Of course she wanted to be middle class, but she was more realistic than her best (and only) friend. She would never get off the streets, because once you're on, you don't get off. It's just the way it works.

But all she said was, "And we can wait in line all night for the latest iPhone, Stacie. Just like the normal, stupid people do."

* * *

Jesse Swanson was the opposite. He had grown up in a loving home with two attentive parents and three siblings, his older brother, Josh, his older sister, Jenna, and his adopted younger sister, Chloe. He had gone through college quickly and had moved to LA and gotten a job scoring movies. At first, it was bad Lifetime movies and independent movies, but he had begun to work his way up the ranks. He had gotten to be an intern for the guy who scored _The Dark Night Rises. _His name wasn't in the credits or anything, but he was still involved.

He lived in a house with his roommate and best friend, Benji. It wasn't an especially nice house, but it had a small pool in the back.

They got a lot of their cooking supplies and 'luxury' items because Benji was a doctor, though. Benji was 28 and a pediatrician at a nearby hospital. He also volunteered at the free clinic and homeless shelters.

"Come _on, _Jesse," Benji pleaded, "I promised the women's shelter downtown that I'd help out tonight. It would mean a lot if you came with me…we never spend any time together."

"Dude," Jesse said, not looking up from his computer, "You sound like a girlfriend. Speaking of girlfriends…how is that one you've been seeing? Invite her. You know how I feel about homeless people." Homeless people rather scared Jesse. He thought most of them were drug addicts and even if they weren't, they got to where they were somehow. If you're homeless, you did something.

"Her name is Amy and I'm seeing her tomorrow. Jesse…these people aren't to blame for where they are. It would mean a lot to me if you came…" Benji gave Jesse a puppy look.

"No," Jesse still didn't look up. "We can hang out at a bar or something. You got overworked for a week and are entitled to-"

"_Required _to," Benji interrupted sadly.

"-Take a two week vacation. We can hang out this weekend."

Benji didn't say anything else, just hung his head in defeat and left.

* * *

**So...what did you think? This just popped into my head and I thought 'Why the hell not?'**

**So should I post more? There will be more characters mentioned, and Beca and Jesse should meet by the...fourth chapter, I imagine. **

**Beca/Chloe friendship will be incorperated. **

**Thanks everyone :)**

**-Beth **


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect.**

**I do, however, own the plot. **

* * *

Benji liked to volunteer because it made him feel like he was making difference enough for himself and Jesse, who was a bit of an ass sometimes. He would patch up cuts and give stiches at the homeless shelters, or sometimes read to the kids there. Most of the people were pretty regular except a few.

One was Yvette, a woman who was very nice with a heavy Russian accent. She had an abusive husband, he was pretty sure, but he couldn't get her to tell him about her black eyes or bruises. He gave her pain medication…probably twice a month. The second was a young girl who wore a red beanie, ripped jeans, and had brown hair. He never caught her name, and she never stayed the night.

That night, he got to read a chapter of _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets _to the kids, sew up two sets of stitches, and give Yvette some more pain medication. He didn't see the girl.

"What happened to your eye, Yvette?" He asked kindly.

"I do not know," she said in her heavy accent, not meeting his eyes. "Let us talk of something else. Tell me of that roommate of yours."

Benji complied. "His name is Jesse. I've been trying to get him to come down here, but homeless people make him nervous. He's kind of a jerk sometimes, but I love him and we're good for each other. He just needs a good girlfriend to even him out…just not like his old girlfriend, Cory. She broke him. He loved her, and she cheated on him. Since then…Jesse's been very guarded. He never trusts anyone new."

"What was he like before?" Yvette asked, wincing as he moved on to a bruise on her stomach.

"He was so sweet to everyone. He charmed the hell out of girls and couldn't get enough of movies. Now he's a lot sadder and he never touches his movie collection. In fact, he moved them to our garage. The only time he sees movies is for his job." Benji told her.

"What is his job?" Yvette asked. "Is he a…how do you say?-Movie critic?"

"He makes soundtracks for movies. Right now, he's working with a private movie that will probably be entered in some sort of festival. It's called…Maniac, maybe? I'm not quite sure, but he's been listening to a lot of heavy medal recently." Benji winced. "It sucks."

Yvette laughed and accepted the ibuprofen Benji offered her. "Bring him down here," she demanded, "I would like to meet this Jesse. He sounds charming."

"He isn't," Benji promised.

Yvette laughed and they left for dinner.

* * *

Beca had left Stacie's because Stacie had a…client. She had walked for a while, lost in her thoughts, before realizing it had turned dark and she was not in a good place to be.

Beca scanned the area, feeling panicked. She told herself to take a deep breath, but only succeeded in a shallow one. She was in serious trouble.

It was confirmed a second later when she heard a very arrogant, "Hey, boys, the gods sent us a present!" followed by loud laughing.

That's when Beca really started to have a panic attack. "G-get away f-from m-me," she sputtered, "Seriously."

But she had stuttered, and they laughed louder. "She could be a fighter…but look at how little she is. Won't be much of a fight, I imagine."

They began to advance on her, and she backed up until she hit a brick wall. The leader advanced forward and stroked his hand down her cheek.

"You're a pretty one, aren't you? I can make you feel good tonight, baby." He said, hands moving to her chest. She looked around desperately as he groped her and his friends laughed.

She didn't see anything useful.

Then, suddenly, his leg was hooked around her knees and they were on the ground. She felt a cut on her head, but ignored it because she saw the thing that would save her. At least for that particular night.

A rusty old screw.

She made a quick grab for it before bringing it to his eye and sticking it in as hard as she could. He roared with pain and she scrambled out from under him and made a run for it.

One of his friends began chasing her, obviously intoxicated. When he was close enough to, he grazed her neck with something sharp. Even though he was drunk, he was still strong. If he had better aim or had made a grab for her instead…

She chose not to think about it.

She felt the blood pouring down her neck and soaking her shirt. Beca kept running, but still heard him yell,

"I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS, HOMELESS GIRL! I WILL FIND YOU!"

And Beca just kept sprinting for her life, holding her sobs in.

* * *

When Beca met Stacie the next day, Stacie immediately noticed the cut, which hadn't stopped bleeding, but had slowed to a trickle, and the scrape on Beca's head. Her eyes widened.

"Beca," she said quietly, glaring at the girl, "What happened to your head…and what the _hell _happened to your neck?"

Beca didn't meet Stacie's eyes. "…I fell?"

"Beca."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Stacie stormed up to her friend and swept her hair aside, revealing the full, six inch cut. It was still bleeding a little bit and her neck was basically covered in blood. Her shirt had a big red stain on it, right below the cut.

"We are going to the free clinic," Stacie told Beca. "No getting out of it."

* * *

Benji liked working at the free clinic because it was where he actually got to _help _people. There weren't as many moms in the ER who thought their babies were dying because of a fever or men who had a nail in their thigh.

The people who had less were considerably smarter about hospital-worthy events. There were, however, a lot of pregnancy scares and mysterious cuts and bruises.

That particular Sunday was no exception.

He helped a couple girls who needed pregnancy tests (all negative) and a kid who was probably six get a flu shot. He was on a break when she came in.

It was the girl from the homeless shelter.

Her friend had a rag of some sorts pressed against the shorter girl's neck. The shorter girl he recognized sat down, looking a little out of it. Based on the blood on her shirt, blood loss was the reason. He eavesdropped on the conversation the taller girl had with the secretary.

"Hello, I'm here because my friend needs stiches."

"Name?" The secretary looked as bored as always.

"My name is Stacie Portman."

The secretary rolled her eyes. "Not your name, sweetie. Your friend's name."

"Oh. Her name is Beca. That's B-E-C-A. Only one C."

"Last name?"

"She doesn't have one."

"…okay. Doctor…uh, Doctor Benjamin will help her."

Benji smiled at Stacie and Stacie smiled timidly back before running off to grab Beca. Benji grabbed a clean chart he could put Beca's information into in case she ever came back.

Benji went to the bed the secretary had told him she was at before closing the separating curtain. "Hello, Miss…" he hesitated, not sure what to call her. "…Beca. Miss Portman."

'Hello, Doctor Benjamin." Stacie said. "My friend Beca needs stiches, I think."

"I don't," he heard her say, voice muffled by her own arm, which was thrown across her face. "I don't need stitches."

If Stacie had heard Beca, she didn't show it. Benji cleared his throat awkwardly.

"You can call me Doctor Benji. Now, Beca, why don't you take that cloth off your neck?"

Beca slowly removed the cloth and Benji struggled to keep a straight face. He quickly grabbed his needle, thread, and disinfectant wipes. Stacie sat in one of the cheap plastic chairs. "Well, I can tell from here you need stitches, Miss Beca. Miss Portman seems to have been right."

Beca didn't say anything, but Stacie grinned at him. As he sewed Beca up, he glanced back at Stacie and remembered again why he really liked the free clinic.

It was because he got to help people like Stacie get back people who meant a lot to them. If it weren't for him and the other doctors at the clinic, Stacie wouldn't have had anyone to turn to in order to help Beca.

And as far as he could tell…Beca was basically all Stacie had. And Beca obviously wouldn't be helping herself.

Benji decided he liked them both.

* * *

**You guys are amazing!**

**I open my inbox and there's like 24 new emails and they were all favorites/follows of That Homeless Girl. Thanks, guys :)**

**A few people were worried Jesse would be mean, and Jesse will be a little bit of an ass at times. He's just bitter. I'm sure he'll get better...;)**

**Feel free to tell me what you think of this story and things you might want to happen. I have a vague idea of what I want it to look like, but I'm open to suggestions. **

**Thanks all!**

**-Beth **


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect.**

**I do, however, own the plot. **

* * *

Jesse had never liked shopping with Benji.

It wasn't because of his dorky fashion sense or how he insisted he try on _every fucking shirt_ (though those both contributed), it was because he would stop and give money to homeless people.

"They'll just buy drugs and alcohol with it," Jesse told him every time. "Why do you give it to them?"

Benji always shrugged and looked at his roommate evenly. "Because it's the right thing to do, because they're people, because what if they _don't _buy drugs? I might've just saved that guy's life, Jesse."

And Jesse never responded after that.

So when Benji begged Jesse to go shopping with him on Friday, Jesse blew him off, saying he needed to score his movie. But that particular day, Jesse really should've gone with him.

* * *

"I like it," Amy said when Benji came out of the dressing room. "Just un-tuck the shirt, babe. You wouldn't want to be the dorky doctor."

Benji did what Amy told him to do and had to admit the outfit was significantly better. Amy walked up and wrapped her arms around him, grinning. "Told you, Doctor Applebaum."

Benji chuckled. "You're usually right, Amy. Anyways, on Sunday Chloe, Aubrey, and Donald are coming over for dinner. Do you want to come as well?"

"Well, I do like Chloe and Donald. Even Aubrey when she's not being an aca-bitch."

* * *

Later, when it got colder, Benji and Amy decided to go to dinner in a restaurant Amy deemed 'cute', but Benji called 'food poisoning waiting to happen'.

"Can I take your order?" A familiar voice asked him once he and Amy had sat down. Benji looked up from his menu to see Stacie standing there.

"Stacie," he said before he could stop himself. "How are you? I didn't know you worked here."

Stacie's eyes widened with recognition. "Oh, hello, Doctor Benjamin. I didn't work here before…but I need more money. Beca…" Stacie sniffed. "Beca's sick. Like…really sick. I need money so that I can take her to a real doctor. She has that new type of flu, I think. She needs the hospital…or will very soon."

Benji's doctor sense began tingling. "What are her symptoms, Stacie? How bad is she?"

Stacie looked like she was about to cry. "While, on Wednesday, Beca came to my place and she was all flushed and complaining about being cold. Her eyes are all red and watery and she does this awful dry cough. Her temperature must be high, but I don't have a thermometer. Her voice is scratchy, and she says her throat is sore. She's just so…weak. I hate it. I want my strong Beca."

"Would you mind…can I see her?" Benji asked.

Stacie smiled hopefully at him. "Really? That would be great. I'm…I think she's getting worse."

* * *

Stacie got off about 10 minutes after Benji and Amy finished their food. Amy claimed it was still cute, but Benji was still expecting that food poisoning. Stacie directed them to her apartment from the back of Amy's car. It wasn't far from the restaurant.

And when Stacie simply opened her door ("I don't need to lock it…it just stops them from breaking down my door if they can open it.") and Benji saw Beca, he was immediately concerned.

As Stacie showed Amy where the bathroom was ("Not a word, Benjamin Applebaum,") Benji took Beca's temperature.

103.8. Not good.

* * *

He wasn't quite sure how Beca had ended up in the back of his car, coming home with him. He thinks he agreed sometime after Stacie started crying about her only friend dying and before Amy started moaning about how she shouldn't have gotten the sushi.

Stacie hugged him tightly and thanked him profusely, but he knew dealing with Jesse would be the biggest issue. Jesse was opposed to Chloe, his own sister, staying at their house, never mind a random homeless girl.

All Benji really knew was that he was completely, utterly screwed. Because once Beca got better, what was he supposed to do with her? He couldn't just throw her back to the streets. Not an option.

But how long could he really keep her?

_What the hell have I gotten myself into? _

But then he looked back at the sleeping Beca and couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Even if he was screwed.

* * *

Luckily, by the time he got back, Jesse was in bed. Benji put Beca in the guestroom and gathered all the stuff she would need. He woke her up and made her drink a cup of water and take some medicine before sitting down in the chair in the guestroom to make sure she reacted okay to the medicine. He had given her children's medicine because his guess was she had never had medicine before.

As he watched her, he noticed things he hadn't before. She was very small, and her hair was surprisingly well-kept and a very pretty brown color. He looked at her dirty clothes and the white comforter on the bed.

Even though it was already 11, Benji picked up his phone. He hit speed dial 3 before holding the phone to his ear. She answered cheerfully on the second ring.

"Hey, Chloe, could you maybe do me a favor tomorrow?"

* * *

Luckily, Jesse always hung out with Donald on Saturday mornings. They joined a gym together and woke up at 6am to go. They always worked out for like two hours, before going to IHOP for breakfast. After that…Benji wasn't quite sure what they did. But Jesse never got back until at least one.

Chloe arrived at 7, arms laden with bags. She ditched the bags in the entry and rushed toward the guestroom without even saying hello to Benji. Benji chuckled at Chloe's antics and grabbed the bags that contained who-knows-what before following her.

Beca had been taking a shower when Benji went to answer the door. He told her it might help her sinuses after explaining what Stacie had done for her. He wasn't actually sure how much she got (she might've been high on children's Tylenol)

When he walked in, the bathroom door was open, and Chloe was nowhere in sight.

"Chloe!" Benji called, resisting the urge to facepalm. "Quit harassing Beca!"

Chloe's voice floated through the door. "She likes it. Now, go away and let me help her."

* * *

Beca's initial reaction to Chloe's presence was what any person in the shower's would be.

Totally, utterly confused.

Chloe just poked her head in and commented on Beca's singing voice, since Beca had been singing one of Stacie's favorite songs that came out of the old radio in her apartment. Beca would sometimes sing along to make Stacie happy.

The song was called I Won't Give Up.

And Beca had stopped singing and just stared at Chloe. If she had been herself, she would've been horrified. She just stared at the strange redhead in her shower with what she was sure was a glazed-over look.

Chloe made Beca finish up quickly and handed her a completely new set of clothes.

"I wasn't sure what size bra you wear, so I got you a camisole and silk pajama pants. They're just navy, though, since I wasn't sure if you would like hearts. Looking at you now…I'm going to go with no. I brought Gatorade, one of each color since I didn't know what you liked, and also tea. I got sourdough bread for toast and chicken noodle soup. The canned kind, unfortunately, because I can't cook for shit…"

Chloe talked on for ages, Beca looking on. For some reason…she might've liked the redhead more than she should. Beca was still 50% sure she was in a fever induced hallucination. The one other time she had been sick…

Yeah. Beca had a history of hallucinations.

* * *

**Sorry it took longer than I had planned (I meant to update yesterday, but I fell asleep earlier than planned and...y'know, real life. My goal is to update at LEAST once a week. **

**Feel free to put out ideas of things you would like to see happen in the story. **

**Did you like the slight Beca/Chloe friendship in there? It was fun to write :)**

**I've decided to bribe you all to review by promising an exclusive oneshot. Anyone who reviews with an account will get a oneshot about Stacie and Beca meeting and a glance of both their pasts. I'm also open to ideas on oneshots you'd like to see (Jesse/Cory's relationship, a Chloe/Jesse sibling moment, maybe even Beca's past...) Chances are, it won't be in the story. **

**So review with an account and I'll send it to you :)**

**Thanks for all your support! **

**-Beth **


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I do not own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect.**

**I do, however, own the plot. **

* * *

Jesse had a good day with Donald. They hung out and went to a sports bar, but Donald had to leave early because his mom's pug had puppies and Donald had agreed to take care of them for a couple days while she went to a trip to Mexico she had been planning for two years. They were almost ready to be adopted out, so that would fall on Donald as well.

"What am I supposed to do with eight freaking pugs?" Donald groaned. "There are seven puppies and I can't give them away for another two weeks. What should I do with puppies for two weeks?"

"I'm sure that Chloe would come over and help. In fact…I know a lot of girls that would love to help."

Donald chuckled. "I guess you're right. Anyways, I have to go. If I don't get there early, my mom will spend much longer crying about her 'babies'."

Donald and Jesse said goodbye and Jesse got in his 2007 Camry. He began to drive home and his mind flicked back to Benji.

When he had seen Benji that morning, his roommate had been acting strange and kept glancing back at the hallway that led to the guest bedroom, cleaning closet, the door to the backyard, and Jesse's workspace. Jesse figured Benji had gotten a new window cleaner or had forgotten to clean the pool a couple days ago.

But when Jesse got home, he saw his sister, and he knew something was up.

"Chloe," he said, "What are you doing here?"

Chloe spun around quickly, having not heard him come in. "Jesse! You're early. Benji said you're not usually back until one. It's only twelve-thirty."

"Donald had a thing," Jesse told her, not mentioning the puppies because Chloe was easily distracted. "What are you doing here, Chloe?" He asked again.

"Uh…well…" she didn't meet his eyes. "Benji…I…she…"

But then he found out through another source. And that source was a blonde girl with an Australian accent bursting through their door without knocking.

"Hey, Benji, how's that girl? The sick homeless one?"

Chloe covered her eyes with her hands and groaned. Jesse looked at her.

"What…what's going on, Chloe?"

* * *

"Dude! Why would you bring her _here?" _

"Jesse, she's basically dying. Her temperature is barely below a hundred and three. And she's sweet…I know you'll like her. Once she gets better and talks, at least."

"But would it have _killed _you to ask me?!"

Chloe sighed as she heard Jesse and Benji fight. She didn't like it when they fought. If she could, she'd take Beca with her, but she lived with Aubrey, and Aubrey would flip even more than Jesse.

Chloe heard Beca groan and walked over to the girl.

"Who're you?" She asked Chloe groggily. "Where am I? Where's Stacie?"

"I'm Chloe," Chloe said excitedly. This was the first time Beca had talked. "You're at my brother and his roommate's house. Stacie is probably at her apartment."

"Why am I so cold?" She asked, beginning to get up. "I have to go."

Chloe gently pushed Beca down. "You're fine, Beca. You're here with me and Benji and Jesse. You're fine."

Beca still looked confused, but settled down and allowed Chloe to put the thermometer in her mouth. It beeped and Chloe looked at it.

102.7. Down more than a degree since yesterday.

"That's great, sweetie! Keep fighting the flu and you should be better in a few days."

Beca didn't reply.

* * *

**~Two Days Later~**

* * *

Jesse still hadn't seen or met the girl who Benji had taken in. He wouldn't meet her, because he knew himself and he got attached way too easily. Cory was a prime example.

But Benji obviously loved her a lot, like the same way he loved Chloe. Chloe liked her as well.

"You can't avoid her forever," Chloe told him that morning. "Because we both know Benji isn't going to just put her back on the streets."

"Oh, I know that all too well." Jesse had mumbled. "But will she stay forever?"

Chloe didn't say anything.

* * *

Jesse was making himself a bowl of Froot Loops when Benji walked into the kitchen the next morning. Jesse tossed Benji the newspaper and sat down with him at the kitchen table.

They sat in silence for a while before Jesse couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know what Benji's plan for the girl was.

"When will that homeless girl leave?" Jesse asked with a frown.

Benji didn't look up. "Her name," he replied, "is Beca. And I don't know."

Jesse didn't reply for a while. Then he said, "When are you going back to work, Benji?"

Benji winced. "See…I sort of wanted to talk to you about that. I'm going back tomorrow night and I initially was going to have Chloe watch her but then Chloe got an e-mail last night offering her an internship in Paris because one of the people who originally got it dropped out to hitchhike through Mexico or something and…um…"

"What?" Jesse asked suspiciously.

"I need you to watch Beca. Just until she's totally better and we can trust her not to bolt. You know Amy is training to be a psychologist and she said Beca would probably bolt as soon as she wasn't sick anymore…" Benji trailed off and gave Jesse that look that made Jesse feel so guilty. And Jesse couldn't really tell Benji no because Benji had paid for the house by himself for a long time, and even then Benji shouldered most of the expenses.

So Jesse just resigned himself to the fact that Beca would probably be around for a while.

But that didn't mean he had to like her. So with that in mind, he nodded. He'd be civil, but not necessarily friendly.

* * *

_"She likes the blue Gatorade best," _Chloe told him over the phone that night, _"And we're going shopping at Old Navy tomorrow since I work there and we can have a discount. Oh, and did I mention she likes music? She likes radio station-"_

"Chloe," Jesse interrupted, "I think I'm qualified to take care of a…what is she, like, 20?-A 20-year-old girl. I can handle it. I'm only 22."

_"I _know _how old you are," _Chloe said irritably. _"I'm only like five months younger than you. And I just want to make sure you'll do this the way pre-Jesse would, not Ass Jesse."_

"Pre-Jesse?"

_"Pre-Cory-Jesse. She broke you, Jess. We both know she did." _

Jesse sighed. "I'm over it, Clo. Seriously."

_"Fine," _Chloe sighed, _"But try to let your guard down for her. She's _really _sweet, Jesse, and you two could become friends, I bet." _

"If you say so, Clo. Now, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow when you come to get Bella for shopping."

_"You're hopeless, Jesse. Her name is Beca." _

Jesse grinned. "I know. I just like to annoy you."

_"I hate you."_

"Love you, too, Clo."

She hung up and he laughed out loud. He loved to annoy his sister.

* * *

Chloe dragged Beca into Old Navy the next day around 10. Beca's temperature was below 100 as of that morning, so Chloe had shoved some of Jenna's old yoga pants at Beca (she had gotten her mother to send them) and a camisole and plaid shirt. Beca was in her own shoes, but Chloe knew there was a Payless next to Old Navy and was planning to get Beca in there as well.

"Can we leave now?" Beca asked once they had been there for 9 minutes. "I don't need new clothes, Chloe. I should just go home…"

"What home?" Chloe asked, running her hands over the V-neck shirts. "That's what homeless means. Now, let's try jeans, and we should get you some new underwear. And probably a bra, but there's a Victoria's Secret a few stores down. And some shampoo, and soap, and lady stuff. I know you said you don't get a period for whatever reason, but just in case. And some shirts."

Beca didn't bother fighting Chloe. Since she was going to Paris (she wasn't quite sure where that was, and when she asked Benji how many minutes away it was, he laughed and told her he'd explain it later) and she heard Benji on the phone the night before, she was sure she could run soon.

Beca wasn't ungrateful, but she ran at the first sign of any connection. The only exception was Stacie, and that was only because Stacie had understood. Beca was pretty sure she would've died long ago if not for Stacie, and very sure she would've died if not for Benji (if not from the flu, from the cut on her neck. It was closing up and Benji said the stitches could come off soon.)

So she let Chloe buy her a couple new pairs of jeans, three camisoles, five plaid shirts, two V-necks, two pairs of sweatpants, even underwear and bras.

When they went to Target, Chloe took her over to the ladies department. "Here, I get you Dove deodorant, the pear kind, and restorative shampoo and conditioner. Your hair…well, it should get better with this shampoo. And tampons. I'll put them in your bathroom. Now, c'mon, let's go pick out a toothbrush."

Chloe led Beca over to the toothbrushes and let Beca pick one out, like how her mother did when Chloe was little. Beca quickly picked out a red one.

"Luckily your teeth are nice and straight, even though you never had braces. My sister and I never needed them, either, but Josh, my other brother, went through five years of headgear. And Jesse had two years."

"Oh," Beca said, staring at her new Converse. They were black and shiny. Chloe picked up some Aquafresh and threw that into the cart.

"Do you mind grabbing stuff for my internship? I need some new t-shirts and maybe a CD or two."

"I don't mind," Beca said. She followed Chloe over to the CDs and looked at the names. There were all sorts of people. Many she couldn't read. She recognized a couple names that Stacie had her memorize, including Ke$ha and Jason Mraz.

"Let's see," She heard Chloe mumble as her eyes skimmed over the names Beca couldn't read, "Elton John, Billy Joel, or Pink? Maybe Train…should I get a CD for Aubrey's birthday next month? Ladies of the Eighties?"

"Who are all these people?" Beca found herself asking.

Chloe gaped at her. "That's it. I just got a new iPod, so you're taking my old one. You need to know this stuff, Beca."

Beca shrugged. "I'm homeless. Not really high priority."

Chloe smiled. "It is now."

* * *

**The beginning didn't flow quite as well as I would've liked, but I was proud of myself for that end. So...I lied. They haven't quite met exactly, but that will be next chapter. I promise. Jesse is Beca-sitting. Haha. **

**There was some sibling love for you, and if you review, I'll send you some sibling love from their childhood, right after Chloe was adopted. I rather like it, and the response for the last chaper was overwhelming. Keep it up!**

**Love you all! Hope you liked this chapter! **

**Remember to review for your exclusive outtake! **

**-Beth **


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I don't own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect. **

**I do, however, own the plot.**

* * *

When Jesse woke up on Wednesday morning, it was because something was burning. And the smoke alarm was going off, then stopping, and then going off again.

He jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen, where a girl was standing in his kitchen next to the toaster, which was smoking. She turned around and saw Jesse and smiled nervously.

"Um…I think your toster is broken."

Jesse observed the scene in front of him. Benji's little homeless girl was standing next to the toaster, which had some smoke coming out of it. He couldn't see what was in it too clearly, but it didn't look like bread. If he had caught anyone in this situation usually, he would be furious.

But suddenly, he was trying to hold in a laugh. "Did you just call it a _toster?"_

The homeless girl, her name is Beca, Jesse reminded himself, frowned. "Isn't that what it's called?"

Jesse let a little laugh come through. "It's a toaster. How do you not know what a toaster is?"

Beca shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I don't know. Stacie has a microwave and most homeless shelters I've been to have ovens and stoves, but none of them actually have toasters. I guess giving us toasted stuff isn't high on their list."

"So, what's in it right now?" Jesse asked, grinning to show he wasn't mad.

She looked back at the toaster. "Oats. Benji said if you heat them up and add water, it will make oatmeal. I used to have it at homeless shelters sometimes, and when I talked to Benji yesterday, he said I could even have brown sugar. But he wouldn't tell me what makes it brown."

Jesse laughed again. He didn't see her frown. "You boil the _water, _Bree; you can't warm up the oats and expect it to work."

She glared at him. "It's Beca."

"I just wanted to see if you'd correct me."

"Why?"

"It was a good way to see how timid you are. You passed."

Before she could reply, he brushed passed her and unplugged the toaster. He looked inside his and Benji's toaster oven to find a plastic bowl full of dry oats. A few had fallen to the bottom of the toaster, which explained the burning. Jesse pulled the bowl out and turned around to look at Beca.

"Now is when I start corrupting you to do things Benji won't like," he told her.

"What does corrupted mean?" Beca asked.

Jesse decided he should just change the subject. "Have you ever had a Poptart?"

"No," Beca replied, looking interested at the idea of a new food. "What's a Poptart?"

"It's like…well…" Jesse trailed off, not sure how to describe his favorite breakfast food, though Benji said it wasn't breakfast because it was just sugar. "You'll just have to try one. Is strawberry alright? I'm just asking to see if you're allergic."

Beca's eyes lit up at the mention of strawberries. "I love strawberries! Stacie and I used to go pick them from the garden of this abandoned house somewhere around here." She sighed wistfully. "But then a real estate agent bought the place and yanked out the strawberries to put in a patio. I haven't had any since."

Jesse wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Didn't you ever get any from a homeless shelter or something?"

Beca shook her head. "They couldn't afford stuff like that. They mostly bought healthy, cheap, filling foods. It was fine, though. I like oatmeal and chicken."

Jesse took the Poptart out of the toaster and put it on a plate before sliding it over to Beca. "Take a bite. You'll love it. It's tied with Froot Loops and waffles for my favorite breakfast food."

Beca accepted the plate and picked up the Poptart. "I don't think I've ever had Froot Loops before. That's the one with the picture of the bird on it, right? The red box?"

Jesse looked at her, trying to figure out if she was kidding. By her genuine face, she wasn't. "Wow. Just wow. First you've never had a Poptart, now you've never had Froot Loops…you have been deprived."

She cocked one of her newly manicured eyebrows, giving him a sarcastic grin. "Homeless. Deprived. They sort of go hand in hand, huh?"

Jesse winced playfully. "Ouch, Beca. But I guess I sort of deserved that one."

She giggled a bit and took a bite of her Poptart. Her eyes widened and she quickly swallowed before taking another bite as if she'd never eaten before. Jesse grinned happily.

"They're good, right? Tomorrow we try Froot Loops."

Beca took another bite of the Poptart Jesse had given her and smiled at him around her chewing. She swallowed and said, "Are Froot Loops really as good as Poptarts? Because I find that hard to believe."

"I promise they are," Jesse replied. "Then we'll do waffles."

Beca made a face. "I've had waffles before. Once. The homeless shelter over by that little strip mall got Eggo waffles from a food bank and they gave them to us with maple syrup. They were…okay. I prefer frosted Mini Wheat, which they sometimes used to give us at the shelter by the park. Mostly at the beginning of the month, when the food bank sends a bunch of donated food from grocery stores."

"Well, that's your problem right there. First of all, waffles are meant to be homemade. Second, maple syrup is one of those things you either like or don't. I like it. Chloe likes it. Donald loathes the stuff. But you _must _like it. Don't be a weirdo like Donald."

Beca nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll try your version of a waffle as soon as possible. But I don't think I like maple syrup. I am so, very, _truly, _sorry."

Jesse scoffed. "You better be kidding. Next you're going to not like puppies."

"No, I like puppies. I really like dogs. I just don't like maple syrup."

"Oh," Jesse said suddenly. "I think I might know what we're doing today, then. Finish your Poptart, we're going out."

"Where to?" Beca asked, taking another bite of her Poptart.

"You'll see," Jesse answered, grinning wickedly. "Beca-sitting day one is a go."

* * *

Jesse pulled his car up to Donald's house and cut the engine before turning to Beca. "Ready to meet a new person?"

"Okay," Beca replied, opening her door and carefully shutting it. She hadn't really been in a car before. She'd been in Chloe's a couple times, Benji's once, and even a public bus on occasion. But she was still a little weary of the too-clean interior and a little afraid she would somehow break something or it would crash. She had heard stories of crashes and seen them, and it was not something she wanted to experience.

Jesse led Beca up to the porch and gestured for her to ring the doorbell. Beca pressed the small button and heard the chiming from inside the house. A boy opened the door and gave Jesse one of those weird slide-hand chest bump things before smiling kindly at Beca.

"Who's this pretty girl with you, Jesse?" He asked. "Cause it sure as hell isn't your girlfriend."

"Got that right," Beca mumbled. The boy laughed.

"I like you. What's your name? I'm Donald."

"It's Beca," she told him, not meeting his eyes. "Nice to meet you," Chloe told her it was good to tell someone that when you met them, even if you didn't mean it.

"Nice to meet you, too, Beca. Come on in." He ushered Beca into the house, leaving Jesse on the porch.

"Really feeling the love, man," Jesse yelled, walking through the door and letting it swing shut behind him. "But I brought Beca here because I thought you might want some help with the puppies."

Donald grinned at Beca. "Really? I can always use help with those little monsters."

"You have puppies?" Beca asked him, meeting his eyes for the first time. "What kind?"

"Pugs," he said, "There are seven tan ones, including the mother, and one little black puppy. They're really cute. You'll love them."

"Okay," Beca said eagerly, seeming to forget about how nervous she had been. She slipped out from behind Jesse and began to follow Donald. Jesse followed behind them.

Donald led Beca down to the kitchen in his basement, where he had a baby gate set up to keep the eight dogs in.

"They're seven weeks old," Donald told her, opening the gate. "Three of the puppies are girls and four are boys."

Beca knelt down and was surrounded by puppies fighting for her attention. Jesse picked one up and set it on his lap. She scooped up the black one and it wagged happily in her grasp. "Do they have names?"

"No," Donald told her, sitting next to her. "Let's name them now."

"Okay," Beca agreed. Her eyes flicked up to Jesse's. She pointed to his puppy. "You name that one first."

Jesse asked Donald whether his was a boy or a girl.

"Boy," Donald told Jesse.

"Then it shall be Luke," Jesse said.

Donald rolled his eyes. "Oh, god, Jesse. Really? _Star Wars?"_

"Luke, I am your father," Jesse said in his Darth Vader impression.

"I've never seen Star Wars," Beca told them.

Jesse's eyes snapped from Luke's to hers. _"What?"_

"Uh," Beca pointed to herself. "Homeless."

"Right." Jesse said. "But just wait until Benji hears. You'll be forced to sit through all fourteen hours of Star Wars."

Beca winced. "That sounds horrible."

Jesse frowned at her. "It'll be awesome. You'll see."

Donald picked up the fattest puppy, cutting off the Star Wars conversation. "This one should be…Bumper."

Jesse raised one of his eyebrows. "Don't you have a cousin named Bumper? God, that guy is annoying."

"Yeah," Donald admitted. Bumper the puppy jumped up, trying to lick Donald's face. Donald picked the puppy up and it tried to chew his glasses. "But I like this puppy better."

And one by one they named the rest, the four boys being Bumper, Luke, Cookie, and John, ("Like John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Beca. You'll have to watch that movie, too.") and the girls being Mimi, Holly ("From _Breakfast at Tiffany's, _Beca.) and Lilly.

"I think Betsy likes her puppies' names," Donald said, pointing to the mother. Her tail was wagging as she licked who Beca identified as Cookie, based on the little dot on his right ear.

"I think so, too," Beca told him with a grin.

"I think it's mostly because two of them have movie names," Jesse put in. "My favorites are John and Holly."

"Why would you name a puppy John, though?" Beca asked. "Nobody will get the significance of the movie."

"I like Cookie, Mimi, and Bumper," Donald said smugly. "I mean, she _is _licking Cookie."

"Dude, I can't believe you named one of your puppies Cookie. Of all the things you could've named it, you named it Cookie. Just fork over your man card now."

"I like the name Cookie," Beca said. "And you're one to talk. You named your puppy John."

"Yeah," Donald said.

"You guys are ganging up on me," Jesse accused.

"Totally," Donald said, giving Jesse a shove. "You need to be knocked down a couple pegs, you bastard."

Jesse grinned and punched Donald good-naturedly. "Let's go get some lunch. How does pizza sound?"

"Awesome," Donald said. He turned to Beca. "You okay with that, Beca?"

"Yeah," Beca said, absently petting Lilly, who was the little black puppy. "But I'm going to a hair solon with Chloe at two, so we have to back by then. And we should bring some to Benji so he doesn't have to eat hospital food."

* * *

Jesse was squished between Benji and the wall in the hospital cafeteria. He glared at Donald, who had called sitting next to Beca once they got there.

"Get over it dude," Donald said. "You can sit next to her next time."

"It's not fair to put the two skinny people together," Jesse said, pouting.

"Get over it, Jess," Benji said. "Thanks for bringing me lunch, guys. The food at this hospital is awful."

"I know," Donald said, "Remember when Aubrey sprained her ankle? I got food poisoning from the sushi."

Beca frowned at him. "Everyone knows you can't buy sushi anywhere but a sushi restaurant. Come on, Donald, that's just food 101."

Donald shrugged, taking a bite out of his pizza. "Sorry."

* * *

**I'm pretty happy with how this chapter ended up. Mostly it was Jesse/Beca fluff, but we needed a fluffy chapter, no?**

**I really like Donald. You'll probably be seeing some Donald/Beca friendship. **

**I hope this was better than the first attempt. Next chapter coming soon!**

**Thanks for your support :)**

**-Beth**


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I don't own any publicly recognizable characters, settings, references, ect. **

**I do, however, own the plot.**

* * *

Chloe picked Beca up from the hospital after she had lunch with Benji, Donald, and Jesse. She told Benji that she would take Beca back to his place after dinner and not to wait up.

"Where are we going?" Beca asked Chloe once they were getting into the car.

"I'm not telling you until we get into a locked, moving vehicle." Chloe joked.

Beca laughed and asked her when she was leaving for Paris.

"Tomorrow morning," Chloe replied sadly. "I spent today with Aubrey. We went to the spa to get our nails done," Chloe showed Beca her newly painted pink nails, "And then we went to lunch at our favorite sushi place. I'm definitely going to miss Aubrey."

"Will you miss me, Chloe?" Beca asked earnestly. "Because Benji told me we can Skype on his computer and I can text you on his phone…"

"Well, Beca," Chloe said with a sly smile. "That's actually something we're taking care of right now. We're on our way to the Apple store to get you Mac and a phone."

"Why?" Beca asked. "Those things are expensive. And I don't need them."

"Well, my dad is a former accountant for Apple, so we can basically get whatever we want for free. So I thought, why not? Plus the iPhone will double as an iPod." Chloe smiled at Beca. "And of course I'll miss you. You're like the little sister I never had."

"And you're like the big sister I never had." Beca replied, her lips turning up slightly at the ends.

Then they pulled into the parking lot and Chloe cut the engine. She turned to Beca and gave a sheepish smile. "Just…please don't break anything."

* * *

They spent two hours in the Apple store, with Beca forcing Chloe to read her all the little tags and Chloe telling Beca to try all the computers and hold all the phones. They spent a good half hour picking out a case for Beca's new iPhone 4S.

"Get the pink one, Beca," Chloe said again. "Look how cute it is!"

"But I don't like pink…" Beca said back. "I want the one with the words on the back."

"You mean this one?" Chloe asked, picking up the case Beca was referring to. "The one with the music notes and the words to Titanium?"

"Yeah, with the music notes," Beca nodded at the case Chloe had. "And Titanium is the song on the radio, right? Stacie loves that song. I should go see Stacie."

"Maybe we could invite her to dinner with us," Chloe said, giving the case to the worker that had been helping them and telling him to go put their purchases in a bag. "We're going to a cute little café, and it's near her apartment, if I'm not mistaken. Can you call her? Do you know her number?"

Beca scoffed. "Of course I do. It's not like I had a contact list or a notebook to put everything in." She pulled out her new cell phone, which Chloe had helped her program, and dialed Stacie's home phone.

_"Hello?" _Stacie purred when she answered.

"Stacie, its Beca. Quit talking in your seductive voice."

Chloe heard Stacie laugh through the phone and begin to ask animated questions to Beca. Beca answered back just as animatedly, talking about Chloe, Jesse, Benji, Poptarts, and the pug puppies Donald had.

"And I got a phone, Stacie! Chloe is going to help me fill it with music tonight, but we wanted to know if you wanted to come with us to a café Chloe likes. She says the food there is really good, and I really want to see you…" Beca's face fell as she listened to Stacie reply. "Oh…okay, Stace. No, really, it's fine. I'll talk to you again soon, okay? You'll have to come out with us some other time."

Beca pressed the end call button and sat back in her seat, not saying anything.

* * *

Stacie didn't want to say no to Beca. But as Beca told her about all the things she was getting from the people she had met, Stacie felt her best friend slipping away from her. She loved Beca, really, she did, which was why she was going to distance herself from her best friend.

Cynthia Rose, Stacie's next door neighbor who had gotten kicked out of her parent's house after admitting she was a lesbian, saw Stacie's crestfallen expression as she stared at the phone before putting it down carefully.

"What's wrong, Stay?" Cynthia Rose asked. "Was that Beca? You know, I still haven't met that girl. You talk about her all the time."

Cynthia Rose gestured to the picture on the side table, of Beca and Stacie at the park. Beca had found a disposable camera with three pictures left on it and had immediately run over to Stacie so that they could get as clean as they could before taking the picture. It was almost Christmas of the previous December, almost seven months ago, since it was the end of June, and Beca told Stacie they could pretend it was their own Christmas card. Stacie smiled at the memory of how Beca saved up all December to get the picture developed and buy two picture frames from a local thrift shop. The other picture, of the two of them in front of a fountain, was framed on Stacie's nightstand.

"It's just…" Stacie sighed. "Beca was recently taken off the streets by this doctor and his roommate's sister, and she just seems so happy, living where most girls about her age should. She's got a cell phone and a real bed and she's eating the food she should be eating and it's just…it's hard, you know?" Stacie began to cry, but she angrily wiped the tears away. She hadn't cried in a long time, and she wasn't about to start now. "I love that girl to death, and you and her are the only things keeping me here, fighting. And now she's out there, in the bubble that real people live in."

"So…why can't you just keep seeing her?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"Because I need her to _stay _in the bubble. She deserves to be happy, and she deserves to be able to read and listen to music and eat Poptarts. I just think I should give her a clean break. Soon I might have to disconnect this phone number…maybe switch apartment buildings. Beca can be pretty persistent. I'll miss her, though. A lot."

"But Stacie…" Cynthia Rose said softly. "You deserve to be happy, too."

Stacie didn't say anything. Just looked back to the picture of her and Beca.

* * *

Chloe and Beca walked into the café around 6:30, and Beca had Chloe read some of the menu choices to her. Chloe listed a few before Beca made her stop.

"What's iscargo?"

"It's escargot, and it means snails."

"Why would someone _want _to eat a snail?" She asked once Chloe explained the word. Her nose wrinkled up adorably.

"I don't know," Chloe replied, trying not to laugh. She _loved _snails, but she could see how it could sound unappealing. "But I better start liking them if I'm going to Paris, though."

"Do people in Paris only eat bread and snails or something?" Beca asked. "Because if they do, you can always come back here for the weekend. Benji is going to teach me how to make spaghetti and Jesse is going to teach me Froot Loops."

"Make sure you remind Benji to put in onions. He forgets it a lot when he's making spaghetti sauce. And remind him to put some salt in the water he boils the noodles in. My mom says it makes the noodles taste better."

Beca smiled. "Thanks, Chloe. But please don't eat snails in Paris. And I think I'll have the chicken marinara pasta."

* * *

They had dinner, and by the time they left it was almost eight. Chloe told Beca they had to go to one more place before she took Beca home.

"Do you mind? I just wanted to go to Barnes & Noble to get some guidebooks before I went to Paris tomorrow. We don't have to stay for long, I promise."

Beca nodded. "Of course. I went into a Barnes & Noble with Stacie once, but they kicked us out because…well, because we were homeless and they thought we would steal stuff, I guess."

"We won't get kicked out this time, I promise. We're here. Let's go."

Chloe and Beca got out of her car and walked up to the store. Chloe told Beca to roam around for a few minutes and that she'd find her once she was ready. Beca wandered over to the children's books so that they would have pictures.

"Hello," a voice said, "Can we help you with anything?"

Beca looked up to see the smiling face of a young man, probably around her age, with light brown skin and black curls. "My name is Jake, but everyone calls me Unicycle."

"Why?" Beca asked.

"Because I can ride a Unicycle, and back in college I rode it all over campus. My a cappella group made up the nickname."

"What's a cappella?" Beca asked, not having heard the term.

"Are you shitting me?" Unicycle asked. "You seriously don't know what a cappella is?"

Beca shrugged.

"Well, it's like…it's when you sing with no instruments. It's all from your mouths."

"Yikes," Beca said.

Unicycle chuckled. "Agreed. So, are you babysitting or something? Why are you in the children's section?"

"Um…" Beca's gaze dropped away from his face. "Iactuallycan'treadbecauseIwashomelessfora while."

"I'm sorry," Unicycle said with a frown. "Can you repeat that?"

Beca took a breath, still not meeting his eyes. "I can't read. I've been homeless until recently, so I just never learned."

"Oh, is that all?" Unicycle asked. "I can teach you to read."

"Really?" Beca met his eyes.

He laughed. "Of course. I've got a degree in teaching, so I think I can teach you how to read. I work part time here and part time at a lady's tutoring business. She's getting old, though, so I'm hoping she'll let me take over."

"So you really wouldn't mind teaching me to read?" Beca questioned.

"Not at all. Do you have a phone?"

Beca handed him her phone, and he quickly put his number in it. He passed it back to her and put her information in his phone.

"Only one C," Beca told him when she saw him try to put two. "I know how to write my name, at least."

* * *

Jesse was watching a rerun of Friends when Chloe dropped Beca off.

"Hi, Jesse," Chloe said when they walked in. "I'm here dropping off Beca. Is Benji here?"

"He's asleep," Jesse told them. "Do you still need a ride to the airport tomorrow?"

"No, Aubrey agreed to take me. You can sleep in."

"Yes," Jesse resisted the urge to fist pump. "Beca, do you mind going to Donald's tomorrow? I have to go into work for the next few days and Benji is working. Donald said he can hang with you until I get off around two thirty."

"Sounds good," Beca replied absently. "Do you think he'd take me to see Unicycle?"

"Who's Unicycle?" Chloe and Jesse asked at the same time.

"He's going to teach me to read. I met him at Barnes & Noble today."

Jesse shrugged. "You can ask him. I think the puppies have a vet appointment tomorrow to get their last shots before he can give them away."

Beca smiled. "Okay. I'm going to go to bed. Thanks for today, Chloe."

"You're welcome, Beca," Chloe hugged Beca. "I'll Skype you soon, okay? Text me and call me. I'll miss you and I'll see you in a couple months."

"Bye, Chloe. Have fun in Paris. Don't eat snails."

Beca and Chloe parted and Beca walked toward her room. Jesse got up to hug his sister.

"Bye, Clo. I'll call you, okay?"

"Love you, Jess," Chloe whispered. "Take care of Beca and Benji. And check up on Aubrey once in a while, will you?"

"Fine." Jesse sighed. He stepped out of his sister's arms and kissed her cheek. "Make good choices and remember to call Mom."

"I will, Jess. See you later. Love you."

* * *

***Peeks around corner* Uh...hello there...**

**So sorry it's been a freaking MONTH since I last updated. Just...wasn't inspired. And I figured I better give you guys a pretty good chapter to make up for being gone for so long. This chapter was mostly for setting up some of the plot for later, though. Say hello to Cynthia Rose and Unicycle!**

**On a different note, we're almost to 100 reviews! Let's get up there! If you review with an account, I'll send you a oneshot of the Christmas with the photographs Stacie was looking at. So remember to review!**

**Love you all! **

**-Beth**


	7. Up for adoption

**Hey all,**

**I'm truly sorry that this story hasn't been updated in almost 6 months. I just haven't felt any inspiration for it what-so-ever. I've started chapter 7 countless times with no avail. So that's why I decided that I have three options. **

**I could...**

**1) Wait until inspiration hits me.**

**2) Delete this story **

**or **

**3) Put it up for adoption.**

**So I think I want to put it up for adoption, letting someone else expand on the idea I've created here. I know when I'm reading a book or a story, my head is running with what I would do next in the story. **

**So if you're interested in adopting That Homeless Girl, PM me and tell me what you would do with it. **

**All your reviews have been truly lovely, and you are all dolls. I really wish I could just write it, but I can't. **

**-Beth**


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